It’s been two years since we first stumbled upon the music of Lucy, Racquel and Me. Their earlier, self-titled project, was significantly more raw sounding than this latest venture. The sound today has something of an established, professionally crisp and colourful feel, emerging almost like the short playlist to some emotionally uplifting new film.
Unravel is the opener, the leading voice and the musical backdrop alike shine with intense brightness, feeling all at once perfect for Disney and passionately true to the songwriter’s own difficult experiences and feelings. The effort and consideration that has crafted the piece suggests that the past two years have been well spent. The songwriting feels incredibly poignant and poetic in a slightly new and exciting way. And things continue to impress in this manner throughout.
Much more than the musical glow of this project, it strikes me that it’s the subject matter beneath it all – the concepts that crafted it – that are the key to its intrigue and appeal. The song In My Head, for example, sounds, from a distance, like a hopeful and happy piece of music and performance. The lyrics, however, deal with the more introverted aspects of adult life. By the time the guitar solo hits, moving skillfully from the delicate to the distorted, you find yourself lost in your own head – as per the direction of the song. The music creates something of a safe-space, within which you can really let the mind wander in a positive way.
Continuing down the road of deep thought and introspection, Millions Out There (Orchestral Version) is an incredibly interesting song that features one of the best lyrics I’ve come across all year. It makes you a little unsure whether to laugh or to cry. The song initially seems to focus on the special nature of the self, but that later turns out to be an outlining of how insignificant a single life really is. The colourful, orchestral feel of the music contrasts with the jarring nature of the song’s sentiments. It’s a fascinating piece of music and writing that leaves you hanging on to every line, just to see where things go.
When I die, there’ll be millions out there, turning out their lights – not because of my death, but because it will be night.
Grey follows the depth and full-band feel of the previous song with a gentle acoustic performance that brings through a dash of poetic folk-pop. Once again, the music seems joyful, hopeful, but the concept provokes a totally different set of ideas. It’s a beautiful performance and a moment really well captured.
Pool down the moon sees the energy rise, rhythm and vibrancy drive, and as always – the leading vocal delivers an unmissable story-line. The melody is brilliant here, as is the guitar work – the back and forth between these two elements creates a gorgeous dynamic. The song continues to showcase high levels of warmth and a magical musicality that’s multi-layered and immensely impressive. The lead singer’s voice meanders to a stunning degree, the fast pace of the verse lines draws out a level of effort and subtle intensity in the vocal tone that really carries the song well. The hook and the underlying concept are superb.
Inside my Vault is the final song of the project, a melodically seductive and conceptually fascinating song with a carefully crafted soundscape that supports and enhances the track’s ideas in an easy to vibe to manner. There’s darkness and light intertwined here, and the lyrics again match the mood of the music in a way that makes you desperate not to miss a single word.
This EP in full is incredibly clever, supremely well written and produced. It’s a real pleasure to hear such compelling new music from the realm of this unique collaborative project. There’s such a stylish contrast between the realism of the lyrics and the somewhat magical, perhaps exaggerated feel of the instrumentation. Absolutely worth exploring.
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